Road to Benevolence
by SirKillbane
Summary: From his separation from his brother in Helgen, to the moment he discovered his gift that led him to Winterhold. Karrick's life wasn't always perfect, but he learned as his life became more difficult when Alduin the World Eater appeared, that his true destiny was about to unfold. Follow Karrick as he tells his tale on how he became a Paladin.
1. Helgen

**It's been a long time since I got to sit down and type. I wanted to thank all my supporters and fans who I gathered from my story "Love by Blood." After all this time away, I'm finally writing again. Since my character Karrick drew in such a positive crowd, I wanted to reach back and tell the story about how he came to be. Some things in this story will be of my own making, but I promise to stay as close to the Elder Scrolls lore as possible. I want to thank you all for your kind words and hope to see them again in this upcoming tale. Hope you enjoy.**

My name is Karrick. I am a Paladin who serves Tamriel with honor and benevolence. I am not afraid to lead my companions into battle with fierocity and self sacrifice. But I was not always like this. There was once a time that I did not look kindly on the Divines and all they stood for. Too many times did the temptation of the Daedric lords taunt away at my soul. I did not always strive to enjoy the company of friends and loved ones... Perhaps it is best to take you back five years ago, in the little solidified village of Helgen.

I was working in a little blacksmith's shop alongside my brother, Jorvin, who was only a mere three years younger than I. I was only twenty-four at that time. We lost our parents before we were old enough to remember them. We have no memory of who watched over us the first few years of our lives as orphans, but we do remember all the times we were traded among villages for labor. We would work our hands to the bone every day for little to no food until our current "guardian" lost use of us, then would trade us to the next lot looking for cheap workers.

We stuck with each other no matter how difficult things became. And each time a new buyer would try to separate us, they would quickly realize we were more useful together. When we became of age, the years of hard labor had paid off. We both grew to be larger than any normal Nord of the current age. So people tended to fear us if we grew angry. This helped us land a job with the blacksmith, Bormir, in Helgen. We made weapons and armor for the Imperial soldiers who guarded the border.

The coin in this busy intersection of Skyrim was just good enough to keep our rooms at the Inn paid for and food in our bellies. Of course, not too many of our kinsmen looked kindly towards us because we were without a clan, or family as simply put. We were and always will be just the dumb orphan boys we grew up to be. Because of this, no women wanted to wed, let alone bear any sons or daughters of those they didn't respect. Which this suited fine for us. We were used to being alone.

Business had been on the rise here of late ever since the war started between the Empire and Jarl Ulfric's Stormcloak Rebellion. When the High King was murdered by Ulfric, word got around fast and the Empire began to bolster it's ranks here in Skyrim to help quell the fighting. But the numbers of Ulfric's followers had grown larger than they expected. My brother and I, however, never cared much for politics. We just did our jobs and never cared for what went on around us. However, on this particular morning, our lives would be changed forever.

It was the 17th of Last Seed. My brother and I were doing our usual sharpening and repairs of the Imperial wears when we both noticed something was wrong. There were several Thalmor roaming around the village. Almost as though they were expecting something. Strangely enough, the Thalmor leader of Skyrim, Elenwyn, was present among them. This didn't settle well with most of the residence here. But we all kept to ourselves.

We continued to finish our orders throughout the morning, when we noticed the front gates opened and several carriages came through. They were packed full of men and women all wearing the same uniforms. They were Stormcloak rebels. But why were they brought here?

"General Tullius, sir. The headsman is waiting." We heard an Imperial soldier shout.

A headsman? General Tullius? This was turning out to be more than a normal day. This was going to turn into an execution sight. But why?

Just I had asked myself this question, my brother grabbed my attention by pointing at the last carriage to come through the gates. Sitting on the very back was Ulfric Stormcloak. The leader of the rebellion. But it didn't make any sense. Why was the Imperials stopping in Helgen for the executions? We were all told that if Ulfric was captured, he would be brought to Cyrodiil, the Imperial City and home to the Emperor.

Most of the village, including my brother and I, all watched from a distance as they unloaded the men and women from the carts and began calling their names to form a line to the headsman's block.

We could hear General Tullius confront Ulfric before the executions began. But as we waited to see this gruesome scene take place, we heard a load roar in the distance that seemed to come from over the mountain that overlooked Helgen.

"What was that_?_" My brother asked in confusion. I just shook my head and shrugged my shoulders.

Just then, we could hear the priestess begin her last rites for the prisoners.

"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessing of the Eight Divines upon..."

Just then, one of the prisoners stepped forward and interrupted her. "For the love of Talos, shut up, and let's get this over with." He then proceeded to be placed on the block and prepped for his execution. "Come on. I haven't got all morning." He continued to shout. As the headsman raised his ax, the prisoner let out his final words. "My ancestors are smiling on me this day Imperials. Can you say the same?" Then the ax came down and brought the man's life to an end.

My brother shuttered with disgust, but managed to keep his composure. "He took his death with real courage_._" Jorvin said. "Indeed he did_._" I responded as I watched as the next prison began to walk up for his turn.

Just then, we heard another roar from the mountain. This time, it seemed to be closer.

"What is that_?_" My brother asked again. "It doesn't sound like any creature I've ever heard in my life. It sounds huge_._" I looked towards the mountain, knowing whatever it was, was coming from there.

Just as the next prisoner's head was placed to the block, I heard another roar as a large black winged figure flew over the mountain and down towards the village. It landed on the tower in the center of the village, directly in front of the prisoners. "_Dragon!_" I heard a villager shout. Then, without warning, the creature shot a powerful blast from it's mouth as the sky turned red and fire began to rain down on Helgen.

Jorvin and I ran to the workbench to grab some supplies as fast as we could, equipping ourselves with weapons in case we needed them. He grabbed a couple iron swords, while I grabbed an iron mace. We both started to run for the gates in hopes that we could escape the carnage with our lives. But just before we reached them, a fireball from the sky crashed on the ground between us, knocking us away from each other. It made me black out for a few seconds from the impact. But when I came to, I could not see Jorvin.

As I began to search around for him, all I could see was Imperial soldiers scrambling about to make their way out of the village. Just then, one of the soldiers I saw before spotted me and came to check on me.

"Are you hurt?" he asked as he helped me to my feet. "I think I'm alright_._" I replied. "But I don't see my brother_._" The Imperial looked around a bit but didn't seem to be worried about that. "I'm sure he's fine_._" he replied. "But we can't stick around here. We have to get moving_._" I finished gathering myself and followed the soldier towards the keep. It seemed to be the only place that wasn't blocked by debris or fire.

As we made our way, I continued to look for Jorvin, but couldn't see him anywhere. My worst fear was that he had been pinned under the debris and was burning to death. I didn't want to leave him, but I didn't have a choice. Just before we reached the keep, one of the Stormcloak rebels cut us off.

"Ralof!" The soldier shouted. "You damned traitor, out of my way!" The fair haired rebel quickly shouted back at him. "We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time." The two men looked at each other with great hatred in their eyes. "Fine." This Hadvar replied. "I hope that dragon takes you all to Soverngarde."

The rebel ran past us as we headed for the barracks entrance to the keep.


	2. A Glimpse of Fate

Once we reached the inside of the keep, Hadvar took one last look out to see if anyone else would be joining us inside. I had hoped that my brother, Jorvin, would have made it. But once he shut the door, I realized it was just us.

"I need to get back out there." I demanded with my mace clenched tightly in my hand. Hadvar looked at me with worry as he made his way across the barracks that we had entered. "Are you mad?" He asked. "You go out there now, you'll more than likely become another scorched corpse." I clenched my teeth in hatred. "It's a risk I'm willing to take. My brother is out there." I insisted.

Hadvar searched through a nearby chest and pulled out some cloth to wrap the burns on his hands. "A lot of brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters are out there right now." Hadvar responded as his faced clenched in pain as he tightened the cloth. "But you need to have faith that he made it out somehow. You'll just get yourself killed running out there blindly."

I quickly grew angry and smashed the nearest table with the force of my iron mace. Quickly pacing the room, I turned to question the next course of action from this Imperial coward. "Now what?" I asked. Hadvar quickly headed towards a doorway blocked by a rising gate. Pulling the chain next to it, he turned to me as the gate begun to rise. "First, we need to find a way out of here. There should be an exit somewhere towards the back of this place. After that, we can part ways so you can search for your brother." As he stepped forward to make his way through the door, I nodded my head in agreement and followed.

As we made our way through the keep, we came across several Stormcloak rebels who took me as much as an enemy as my Imperial companion. Even though I had no quarrel with them, I had no choice but to fight my way through to get out of this place alive. Finally, we reached what appeared to be a torture chamber, and two other Imperial soldiers fighting two Stormcloaks. Hadvar charged in to save them, and I followed close behind. When we managed to defeat them, the eldest of the bunch spoke up.

"You fellows happened along just in time, these boys seemed a little upset about how I've been treating their comrades." The elder man seemed to chuckle as he spoke. Trying to catch his breath, Hadvar quickly responded, "Don't you even know what's going on? A dragon is attacking Helgen." Both the old man and his assistant shot a look of surprise at Hadvar. "A dragon?" The old man laughed back. "Please. Don't make up such nonsense."

He seemed to pause for a moment before turning his attention towards the distant hallway across the chamber. "Although come to think of it," he continued. "I did hear some strange noises coming from over there."

Hadvar began grabbing a few items of worth and advised us to do the same. "We need to get out of Helgen." He said in a quickened pace towards the hall. I noticed a decent iron shield sitting against the wall on the floor. I picked it up and proceeded to use it. Just then, I heard the old man speak in a hissy tone. "You have no authority over me, boy."

Hadvar quickly changed his tone right back at the old man. "Didn't you hear me? A dragon is attacking Helgen." The old man continued to walk away and ignore Hadvar's words. I quickly turned to the assistant who kept to himself through the entire conversation. "What about you?" I asked. "Are you as big a fool as this old man?" The assistant quickly grabbed his mace and walked towards Hadvar. "Forget the old man." he responded. "I'll come with you."

As we made our way down the hallway, we could hear the old man shout one last comment behind us, "There's no way out _that_ way, you know."

It wasn't long before we reached a large room filled with Stormcloaks who all seemed to be arguing with each other on how to escape. Hadvar quickly advised that we use that to take them by surprise to fight out way out. The three of us charged the room and seemed to scare all the men inside as we continued to shout and cut them down one by one.

When the fighting seemed to stop, Hadvar and myself seemed to find ourselves at a doorway that seemed to lead out of the keep. But, before we could make our way out, we heard the assistant collapse behind us. When we turned to him, he had three arrows sticking out of his chest. "This blasted armor isn't worth a damn thing." He coughed up as he lay there breathing hard. Hadvar quickly fell to the floor at his side. The man reached up and grabbed Hadvar's hand. "I don't regret a thing." He continued. "Kill those Stormcloak bastards for me." Hadvar nodded in agreement and held tightly to his hand as he took in his last breath.

"I'll see you again one day, brother." Hadvar said as he laid the man's mace back into his hand as a sign of respect. This had me more worried about my brother. Where was Jorvin? And did he make it out of Helgen alive? As these thoughts ran through my mind, Hadvar pushed me to continue.

After we passed through the doorway and lowered the small drawbridge, we found ourselves in a cave. "In all the years I've lived in Helgen," I spoke up. "I've never known _this_ was here." Hadvar looked around to find his way. "They must have found it and gained access in case they needed it as an escape route."

We continued our way through the cave and came into a small room that was covered in webbing. Another thing that caught my eye was the large number of large egg sacks that covered the room. "It's a nest." I said quietly. "We need to be careful." Hadvar nodded in agreement and proceeded to try and sneak through the nest without alerting whatever large spiders lived here. But little did we know, they already knew we were there.

Without warning, several of them dropped in from the roof. They begun to attack us by jumping at us with great force. Hadvar and I did everything we could to avoid their attacks while doing what we could to fight back. "Behind you!" Hadvar shouted in my direction as he thrust his sword into one of the spiders. As I turned around to confront what was behind me, one of the spiders got the jump on me and bit me. I could quickly feel the venom rush through my body. It burned with the most fiercest pain I'd ever felt.

I managed to shake the beast off and kill it. We finished off the remaining few and made our way towards the exit. But the venom was more powerful and spreading faster than I'd expected. "I don't..." I stuttered weakly. "I don't think I'm gonna make it." Just then, I collapsed to the ground. My breathing became harder as my vision started to fade away. I could hear Hadvar shouting at me to keep me from passing out, but darkness eventually claimed me.

-)

"Karrick." I heard my named called in the darkness. But I lay there silent. "Karrick!" It called again. This time it was a little more clear. It was a female voice. Just then, I could see a dim light begin to shine in the distance. "Karrick, are you going to give up that easily?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Who are you? And how do you know my name?" The light seemed to get brighter with each passing second. "What?" The voiced asked in return. "You mean to say that a mother can't know her own child?" I felt a bit of shock when I heard this. My mother? It couldn't be. My parents both died before I could remember them. "Karrick, you must get up." The woman continued. "Your destiny does not end here. You will accomplish great things. Things that no normal mortal man could ever hope to."

At that moment, the light had a slim figure standing in front of it. It appeared to be a woman, but not a woman that I could recognize. The form was not of a normal Nord woman. This woman was not my mother. It just couldn't be.

"Karrick, your people need you. You can't die here." She said. "They don't need me." I spat back. "And I don't need them. Why should I care what happens to anyone but my brother?" The figured seemed to slump in disagreement. "I know the pain you went through for so many years, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you." She replied. "But your brother is alive and has currently chosen his own path. And you must go yours."

"_NO!_" I shouted at the woman. "I live my own life and nothing else matters but the safety of my brother. I will find him." She reached out towards me and I could feel a slight warmth come from her. "My son. In time, you will learn the truth. But first, you must seek out the land to which snow is never ending. There you will find where magic is a symbol of the people."

This riddle made no sense to me. Why would _I_ care about magic? I had no skills in such rabble. As I began to ponder this, the woman and the light began to fade. "Find the truth, my son. Find your destiny." She said as the light finally faded back into darkness.

I laid there feeling the pain coursing through my body, but it felt lifted. As I opened my eyes, I could see that I was no longer in the cave, but in a house. To my right was Hadvar sitting in a chair watching over me.

"Oh good, you're finally awake. I thought I'd lost you for sure."


End file.
